To Make A Family
by becauseicantwritemyownnovel
Summary: Greg meets a child at a park on his day off that changes things between him and Nick forever.
1. Chapter 1

So yes, this is a Nick and Greg story. Don't like, don't read. And sadly, I do not own anything.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It was a beautiful day in Las Vegas. Well beautiful in the sense that the weather was perfect for the current fall day, and Greg had the day off. He was only slightly aggravated that Nick had to be in court on the one day they both should have had off together. He refused, however, to lose his good spirits and instead took his day off to visit a crappy coffee stand in the down town park.

Greg was reaching for his coffee when he felt someone small collide with his legs. He looked down to find bright blue eyes staring back at him.

"Mr." The man at the kiosk said impatiently trying to get Greg out of the way for the next person. Greg grabbed his cup and stepped off to the side. The boy stepped over with him and Greg looked around. No one looked like they were looking for a child; he knelt down next to the boy, "Hey there." He said. "My name is Greg. Are your mommy and daddy here?" The boy said nothing to him. "Look at this." He said taking his badge off his belt. "I'm a police officer." Greg said trying to get him to talk.

The boy smiled and took the badge from Greg's hands but said nothing as he looked over it. Greg looked around once again for the boy's parents; He was only about four; there was no way someone wasn't looking for him. "Hey, you know my name, what's your name?" Greg said to him. The boy looked at him and leaned in a bit squinting his eyes and pursing his lips. Greg laughed at the expression. "You can't talk can you?" Greg said. The boy handed back his badge and when Greg was putting it back on his belt the little boy walked forward and grabbed hold of Gregs neck. Greg stood up and the small child curled right into him, burrowing his head into Greg's shoulder. "Alright kiddo. Let's go find out where your mom is."

They walked through the park and Greg kept his eyes peeled looking for any frantic parents. The small child kept laughing and looking up at Greg before putting his head back down to trace circles on Greg's shirt. "Oh Hi." He said to himself a few times. And Greg just smiled. The kid was adorable.

After roaming around the park for twenty minutes or so they sat down on a bench. "I guess I'm going to have to call you in little guy." Greg said pulling out his phone. The toddler reached for it and Greg let him take it. He looked it over a look of fascination on his face and Greg couldn't help but laugh. "You are really something kiddo." He said and put his hand out. The boy put the phone in Gregs hand and then leaned back against Greg sticking his thumb in his mouth.

Greg had just opened the phone to dial when a woman's voice caught his attention.

"Aidan Micheal Jones." The voice said sternly and Greg looked up to see a nun walking fast and a bit angrily towards him.

The boy in Gregs' arms giggled at her and turned into Greg more.

"I have been looking everywhere for you!" The older woman said. She looked at Greg and years of being in his job he could tell by the look on her face she was thinking the worst. Greg stood and pulled the boy, Aidan off of him and set him down on the bench.

"Hi, I'm Greg." He said to her. "The little guy here found me about a half hour ago. Good thing it was me too, I work with the LVPD crime unit; He could have gotten himself into some serious trouble."

Her face visibly lightened at his words. "Thank the Lord." She said. "I was so worried. I'm sister Meredith." She extended her hand towards him.

"He doesn't talk much does he?" Greg asked.

"Sadly no. Aidan is autistic and he struggles verbally. But put him in front of a mirror and he will talk his own ears off."

Greg laughed and turned slightly to Aidan who was attempting to lean on him from the bench. He turned back to her. "Are you his mother?"

"Oh heavens no child, I'm a nun." She laughed at him.

"Oh yeah; I guess that would make sense." Greg said mentally smacking himself.

"I work at the orphanage on Swede St. We take the kids out sometimes, Aidan needs more supervision than most and he slipped away."

"Orphanage? So he-"

She nodded finishing his sentence. "He has been with us for a year after his mother passed. Father was never in the picture as far as we know."

Aidan had managed to crawl onto Greg's back and Greg spun him around to his hip.

"Do you have children?" Sister Meredith asked.

"Me? Oh no." Greg said.

"Nice young guy like you? But you do so well with him." She said and He noticed she was looking at his ring, being his day off he had slipped it on that morning.

"Oh, my, uh, my husband and I aren't quite there yet." He said awkwardly. He waited for her reaction.

"Well I really mean it." She said smiling. "He has been with us for over a year and besides me; you are the only person he has let hold him without pitching a nasty fit. He really likes you."

Greg smiled looking down at Aidan whose big eyes were staring back up at him.

"Whatcha giggling about?" He said shaking him a little making him laugh more. Greg laughed for a bit, "Alright you, I think Sister Meredith might want to get back." He went to hand Aidan to the Nun, which proved to be a bad idea. The blood curtailing scream the child let out shocked them both. "Hey, it's alright." Greg held the boy to his shoulder, shushing him gently; he looked up at the Sister.

"Would you like to walk him back?" She offered. "It isn't far."

Greg looked up at her.

"Unless, you are busy?"

"No, I have the day." He said. "That would be nice."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

So this is my first CSI story and it does not take place at the lab. HOWEVER, the follow up to this story is more lab and other CSI centric, and will be intense. So hang in there!


	2. Chapter 2

So here is chapter 2! Sorry for the wait. I had a nasty case of writers block, but I have dedicated this Saturday to writing and catching up on my stories. Chapter three should be up sometime soon, if we're lucky and my creativity continues to flow, maybe even later today it could appear. Let me know if there are any mistakes and thank you to those who have commented! This is for you!

0o0o0o0o0oo

"Hey there buddy." Aidan looked up and smiled as Greg walked in and came over to the art table.

"Whatcha working on?" Greg asked. Aidan handed him a piece of paper and Greg marveled. He still couldn't believe how well he could color. It looked like something a 12 year old would be capable of. Still a child's work but well beyond his years. He looked at the picture of a guy standing next to a smaller guy. "Who are they?" Greg asked kneeling down beside him.

Aidan pointed to the bigger one then to Greg. "This one's me?" He questioned. Aidan smiled agreeing with him; then did the same with the small one. "And that's you." Aidan smiled and leaned into Greg, sucking his thumb. He hummed which was something he did to stimulate himself; Greg ruffled his hair.

Two months had passed since his day off when Aidan had run into him; and Greg found he couldn't leave the boy alone. On the days Nick worked late he would stop by and eat breakfast and sometimes lunch with Aidan, the other children, and the sisters; who had checked his background just to be sure, and had accepted him into their circle.

Greg had found that stopping by to see Aidan was almost therapeutic. Focusing on him instead of the violence from work; instead of sitting at home alone waiting for Nick to come home he busied himself making Aidan happy.

Aidan looked up at Greg and scrunched his nose up.

"I had a rough day." Greg replied, amazed at how much communication could be done with the four year old simply by reading his face and actions and not by his words; which, Greg had come to find, were funny when they did happen.

"I can't stay long today bud."

Aidan sighed disapproving.

"Sorry." Greg chuckled. "Nick and I have tonight off, and honestly, I've seen more of you than I have of him lately."

Aidan hugged Greg and it amazed him how much the little guy understood what he was saying. Sister Meredith said he had tested out of an ten year olds comprehension level. Aidan handed Greg the picture and sat back down with another piece of blank paper. Greg folded it gently and put it in his pocket, ruffling his hand through Aidans hair before heading home.

0o0o0o0o0

Greg heard the front door open and shut which caused him to smile; and he listened to Nick remove his shoes and his sock padded feet come walking down the hall.

"Well Hello there darlin'." He said coming into the kitchen behind Greg. "What's on the menu?" He asked placing a kiss on Gregs cheek.

"Nothing special, just spaghetti."

"Well, it smells delicious."

"Why thank you." Greg smiled and turned around to face him. "How did it go?" He circled his arms around his waist.

"It was fine, just paperwork. I called you on the way home, you didn't pick up?"

Greg reached down and felt his pockets. "I must have left my phone in my jacket, I didn't hear it." Greg heard a popping and turned around to turn down the sauce pan. "Can you grab it for me?"

"Sure thing babe."

"I'll put this on the table, go get changed."

Nick went upstairs and threw on some sweats before returning downstairs almost forgetting Gregs phone. He went back to the coat rack and searched his jacket finding his cell and when he pulled his hand out a folded up piece of paper fell to the floor. He picked it up and unfolded it, staring at it for a moment before moving towards the kitchen.

"Would you sit down I'm starving." Greg joked and Nick sat adjacent to him at the table.

"Here's your phone, who's this from? It fell out of your pocket." He handed Greg the paper and piled his plate full.

Greg had small smile on his lips as he looked at the picture. He turned it around to face Nick. "Guess how old the artist is." He asked and Nick couldn't help but notice the almost prideful glint in his eyes.

Nick looked it over and thought of his nieces and nephews drawling abilities. "Ten," He took a guess, "maybe eleven at the most."

Gregs smile broadened. "Four." He said and set the picture down on the table before taking a bite of his food.

Nick wiped his mouth off with his napkin. "Four? You gotta be kidding me."

Greg shook his head and swallowed. "Remember two months ago when you were called into court on our day off? Well I went to the park, over by Via Rosa street and I was getting coffee when the little boy attached himself to my leg. I ended up carrying him around with me for twenty minutes looking for his parents only to find out he lives at the orphanage on Green St. You know the big one run by the Catholic Church on the corner there?" Nick nodded yes. "So anyway Aidan, that's his name, is autistic so he can't really talk, 'cept he kept saying 'oh hi!'" Greg mimicked his voice causing Nick to laugh. "And he is super cute and brilliant when it comes to art, anyway long story short I've been going to visit him in my down time when I'm waiting for you to get home, or if I have the day off and you don't."

"So you're cheating on me with a four year old." Nick smirked at him and received a half hearted shove.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Nick spoke. "Its been a long time since we've both been home around dinner time. Well dinner time in the sense of most of the rest of the world."

Greg chuckled and Nick looked up at him. He was smiling at something as he stared down at his food and Nick knew it wasn't from what he had just said. It was his dazed look he got when he was fantasizing something up. Like when he had wanted to get a motorcycle because he would look like 'a major stud,' or when he wanted to get a dog because 'what if someone broke into their house when they weren't home.' Nick watched him push his spaghetti around his plate with his fork not really at the dinner table at all.

"So when I was finishing up paperwork,"

"Yeah." Greg said still not looking up.

"Ray came in,"

"Uh-hu."

"And he told me he was thinking of getting a sex change."

"Oh really? That's nice…wait what?" Gregs head snapped up and he furrowed his brows. "He said he what?"

Nick laughed. "Where were you?"

Greg blushed and looked back down at his plate, frustrated he'd been caught daydreaming. "Nowhere." He mumbled.

They sat quietly for a minute before Nick spoke. "We aren't ready yet hun." His voice was quiet and he focused his attention on his plate, his eyes however caught Gregs head snap towards him from the corner.

"I wasn't"

"You were thinkin' it." Nick said.

Another quiet moment passed. "Well, alright, maybe I was. But it wouldn't be a bad idea really. Think about it, I'm sure if you met him,"

"Greg it's not like he's a puppy, we can't just bring him home and potty train him."

"God Nick I know that!" He stood up taking his plate with him, not really caring to finish the rest. "Besides, you wouldn't even let me get a dog."

"You let the plant die and you wanted a dog?" Nick was sure that wasn't the right thing to say, but he let it slip out anyway. Gregs plate fell into the sink and he turned moving to go upstairs. "Babe, now hold up." Nick reached out to grab his arm and Greg shrugged it away from him.

"Never mind Nick, it was a stupid idea, you're right." He made his way past him and up the stairs and Nick could hear the door shut just a bit harder than usual.

"Smooth one Stokes, ya jackass." He said to himself.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Greg couldn't tell if he was angry at Nick for making him seems like a child, or at himself for even entertaining the thought of starting a family. Nick was right and he knew it. Long conversations about adopting always had ended with yes they wanted kids, but if they weren't able to tell their friends that they were together, let alone married, and if they were both still working mostly night shift then they just couldn't commit to having children at home.

Greg sighed and flopped down on the bed, staring out as the sun sank down over Vegas and the night life started to pop up. After a few minutes he heard the door creak open and the bed sank where Nick sat down placing his hand on Gregs knee squeezing it slightly. "I'm sorry babe, I didn't mean to be insensitive, it's just we can't…not yet at least."

"I know." Greg sighed. "It's frustrating is all." He turned facing Nick and smiled gently up at him. "Good thing I have you, otherwise I'd probably have a wrecked bike, be missing a leg, have a half dead dog, and five kids to worry about."

"Five? I thought we said six." Nick returned the smile down to him.

Greg sat up and kissed him gently and Nick could hear his apology ring through it, he was about to pull back and say something but it was completely stripped from his mind as he found himself flat on his back, Greg straddling him, grinding their hips together slowly. Nick bit his lip and let out a low moan.

"Hey there cowboy." Greg said quietly. "Haven't seen you in a while, whats say we give that horse of yours a break?" Greg smiled evilly and Nick laughed flipping Greg over onto their bed.

He leaned close to his ear, lips ghosting across the lobe as he spoke. "I really like it when you listen to my music." He felt a shiver run through Greg and heard a soft chuckle escape his lips.

00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

I do realize how utterly corny putting 'Save a horse ride a cowboy' into my story was, however I enjoy it. Haha. Let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

Greg let out an angry sigh and punched his steering wheel; then drew back and hit it again. The case had not ended well, they lost the little girl that everyone had worked so hard to find, and he knew that he wasn't the only one who was feeling the pain in his chest. 'It isn't fair' was the only thing he could think, the words kept pooling in his head. The look on the parents faces; he'd happened to walk by the room when Ray and Nick were telling them, he could hear them cry out as their hearts broke, and he knew that it would only get worse knowing that the coward had killed himself before they could arrest him. There would be no true justice.

He debated stopping by the orphanage, he was angrier than he had been in a long time, but he found himself pulling into the parking lot despite his anger. When he pulled the door open he was greeted with a look that caused him much confusion.

"Oh goodness Greg, I am so glad you stopped by today." Sister Meredith looked relieved.

"Hey." He said. "What's going on?"

"We aren't entirely sure, Aidan has been screaming for over five hours. We had the nurse check him out, he's fine in all sense of the word but he won't let anyone touch him or even come near him, I don't know what to do, we've tried everything."

"Where is he?"

"We have him in one of the observation rooms, you know where perspective parents can come look at the children? We were afraid that he was going to hurt one of the other children accidently."

He followed her down the hall and into a room and she pointed through the mirror. He could tell just by looking at it that it was two way glass and on the other side Aidan was screaming; trying hard to put a puzzle together that sat in pieces all around him. Greg walked out of the room and opened the door, screaming getting louder and he walked into the room.

Aidan looked up at him through painfully bloodshot eyes and stuck his hands up into the air begging to be picked up.

Greg bent down and scooped him up squeezing him tightly against his chest, feeling the way his small body was shaking in small sobs. "Hey, hey," Greg soothed, "what's wrong little guy?" He knew Aidan couldn't answer him, but he was at a loss of what to say. He rubbed his hand gently up his spine in small circles speaking softly about nothing in particular, telling him it was okay over and over until after what seemed like an eternity his sobs became just sniffles against Gregs chest.

Greg pulled him back and using his sleeve he gently wiped his cheeks dry. "There you go buddy, see? It's not so bad, I've got you." He spied a rocking chair in the corner of the room and made his way over to it. Aidan curled into his chest nuzzling as close as he could; and Greg began pushing his feet against the floor rocking them gently. He continued rocking the chair as he felt Aidan's muscles ease up and finally his breathing evened out and Greg knew he was asleep. "I've got you." He whispered against Aidans head. He could feel his own body relaxing and he realized that he hadn't thought of the case since he'd been focusing on Aidan. He smiled and closed his eyes.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Nick had tried the house phone after Greg's cell went to voicemail. After that hit the answering machine he deviated from his regular route and headed towards the orphanage. Since the night that Greg had told him about Aidan Greg hadn't mentioned him again; but Nick could tell when he had stopped by to see him. He had this little smile at the corner of his lips that wasn't from anything Nick had done.

He could see his husbands Truck parked in front of the building and he pulled up alongside of it. He could see Greg's cell phone plugged into the charger, and he went into the building.

"Mr. Stokes?"

Nick looked up to find a nun speaking to him. "Um, yes ma'am."

She smiled sweetly at him. "Your husband speaks highly of you, I've seen your picture a few times." She extended her hand toward him. "I'm sister Meredith."

He took her hand, "pleasure. Call me Nick, please. And I hope it was a good picture."

She laughed at him.

"So I uh, I saw Greg's truck parked outside, he wasn't pickin' up his phone."

"Come with me." She smiled. He followed her to a small room that reminded him of one of the observation rooms used during their interrogations. He looked to where she was pointing in the corner of the next room; pretty sure that the smile on his face nearly broke his face in two. The look on Gregs face was, well, priceless in his opinion. His eyes were closed but he wasn't asleep, his lips curled up gently in the corners; he had his arms wrapped protectively around the small body that was pressed to his chest.

"That's Aidan." Sister Meredith spoke quietly. "He'd been screaming for over five hours before Greg came in. That man of yours is a godsend."

"He's something alright." He said back to her. He continued looking through the glass at the barely moving rocking chair. "Do me a favor," his voice was low, "don't tell him that I was here."

"I can do that sir, it was nice to meet you."

"You too."

00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Nick, I'm home!" Greg called into the house as he shut the door behind him.

"You good for pizza babe? I don't feel like cooking and I doubted you did either."

"Sounds like you already ordered." Greg walked into the kitchen and met Nicks smile. "That would be a yes."

Nick stood up and walked over grabbing Greg in a hug.

Greg felt Nicks arms tighten and hold him longer than usual. "What up?" Greg asked.

"Nothing really," Nick said against his head. "I just wanted to hold you for a second, it was a long day."

"Tell me about it." Greg sighed.

"I saw your truck outside the orphanage." Nick said and felt Greg slightly tense up. "I swung by after I couldn't get you on either phone." He let go of him and stepped back to look at him. "How was the little guy today?"

"Apparently miserable, he was a mess all morning until I got there."

"Did you manage to calm him down?"

He watched a smile form on Greg's face. "Yeah."

The doorbell rang and Greg grabbed the money off the counter. "I'll go get it."

Nick watched him disappear around the corner, and he was sure that smile was radiating through their whole house.

0o0o0o0o0o

Alrighty, so there it is. Chapter 3. It was written quickly so I apologize for any mistakes. Please point them out to me if you see them. Also, comments are welcome and fuel for my writing. Haha. Hope everyone had a great day!


	4. Chapter 4

Two weeks passed before Nick walked through the doors into the orphanage again, knowing that Greg was working a double and wouldn't see him there. Something had changed since the day he had last been; the sight of Greg as he held the boy, talked about him the days to follow, the smile he got when Nick knew he was thinking about him, Nick felt a sense of pride. He also felt like he was missing something and he couldn't put his finger on it. He smiled at the front desk girl. "Hi, is uh, is Sister Meredith available?"

She nodded. "I can page her for you, have a seat." She smiled and pointed to the chairs next to the wall. He muttered a quick

Thank you' and made his way over fiddling with his hands until he heard his name.

"Well Hello Nick, good to see you again. How may I help you?"

He stood to shake her hand. "Hello sister." He smiled. "I was just in the area and I, well Greg, and I well yeah…" She laughed at him and he felt silly, he really wasn't sure why he found himself standing in front of her.

"So Greg?" She promted him.

"He comes by a lot, to see Aidan, doesn't he?"

"Almost everyday."

"Yeah, I kinda figured. He does this thing…this smile he gets, well I guess it's not important. But seeing him in here the other day with him…I was wonderin' if I could meet him?" He chuckled. "I guess I want to size up my competition."

She laughed. "Of course you can. The children are just coming in for afternoon nap. Aidan doesn't take one or he can't sleep at night. He'd probably enjoy your company, I hope you like puzzles."

He followed her to what he assumed to be a play room down the hall and she motioned for him to walk in. "If you are anything like your husband he won't have a problem with you."

Nick walked in slowly looking at the little boy at a small table, back to Nick. "He there little man." Nick said softly. Aidan turned and looked up at Nick squinting his eyes a bit as if sizing him up, it caused Nick to smirk and Aidan gave him a small smile before turning back around to focus on the table. Nick moved closer to the table. "Guess you've probably seen my picture too; really gotta figure out which picture Greg's been flashing of me."

He heard Aidan chuckle at Greg's name and Nick hesitantly sat down in one of the small chairs finding them very uncomfortable to sit on. "Whatcha working on kiddo?" He looked down at the puzzle the small boy was staring at and it took him a moment to process the fact that it was at least a thousand pieces, almost all were black and white except for a few shades of blue. Something Nick couldn't have done even if he tried. "Holy shit." He quickly looked at Aidan. "Sorry," he scanned the room for a sight of the nuns, "Wouldn't have been good if one of the sisters heard me would it?"

He looked up to Aidans face as he squinted hard, then opened his eyes wide before squinting at the pieces again; reaching out to pick up the corner piece to the bottom right, he placed it down on the table and Nick noticed that all the other corner pieces were in there respective spots already. He looked up to Nick with a face that was searching for approval.

Nick couldn't help but laugh and think of the similarities between Aidan putting a puzzle together and Greg working in the lab. Nick nodded to him, "It looks like you've got this all figured out then."

Aidan picked up a piece and handed it to Nick and pointed to the top left, where when placed, fit perfectly. "You are really something, you know that." He said softly. "You've got Greg wrapped around your finger something fierce."

Aidan looked up at Nick and gave him a sweet smile before looking back down to the table. They sat in silence for hours finishing the puzzle.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Nick sat in his Truck staring at the wheel before reaching in his pocket to pull out his phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Beth, It's Nick."

"Oh My God, Not Nick Stokes, Boy I thought you'd died or something!"

"Geez girl calm down, you're about to blow my ear drum."

"Well sorry, it's been forever since I've heard from you."

Nick laughed. "I know it's been a long time, sorry I went and moved to Vegas, started a career, and well you know got hitched and all. Speakin' of which; how's that rat bastard of an ex husband of yours doin'?"

"Still digging his way out of the divorce I buried his sorry ass in."

They shared an overdue laugh over the phone. "Well since things are less hectic on your end why don't you come visit us? Vegas could do you some good."

"Maybe sometime darling,' you know I'd come see you if I could. Now I know you didn't just call me to shoot the shit. What's on your mind?"

"I can't just call you up because I missed you?"

"No, you can't." She laughed.

"Alright you've got me. I need your help with something."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

I know it was short, I am sorry. However…..next chapter is the last chapter. YAY! Anyhooo thank you for reading my story and I hope you are still enjoying it.


	5. Chapter 5

Here is the final Chapter for this story! Enjoy!

0o0o0o0o0o0

Greg fought back at the stinging in his eyes; at the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, he felt foolish. The second he walked in he knew.

_"Oh Greg, I'm sorry."_

He dug his fingernails into steering wheel, willing the light to turn green. He just wanted to be home.

_"What? By who?"_

_ "I can't tell you that dear, it's in the privacy agreement. I'm so sorry."_

_ "W-was he happy?"_

_ "Yes, yes he was."_

There was a hole in his chest that only grew as he tried to push away her words.

_"Greg, you meant so much to him. He won't forget that."_

It wasn't true. He was a child, and he would forget. Greg however knew he wouldn't be so lucky. Hot tears rolled down his cheeks. "God," he spoke aloud to himself, "You are so stupid!" He hated that he'd become so attached knowing full well that this had been a possibility from day one, even angrier at the fact that he felt bitter. "He wasn't yours to keep." His words were hollow.

He felt his phone vibrating and reached to pull it out; running his hand over his eyes so he could read.

'Hey babe, where are you?'

'Home soon. Bad traffic.' He texted back. A lie, but he didn't feel like texting it over the phone. A few seconds later he felt the reply buzz.

'Alright. Supper is on.'

Greg shut his phone and tossed it onto the passenger's seat. He didn't know it could hurt so much; but somewhere in the depths of his mind he known a few months back, that he'd let himself become too attached to the boy; and now that he was gone he knew that Aidan took a piece of him that he would never get back.

0o0o0o0o0o0

He glanced in the fold down mirror wiping the damp from under his eyes. "Ya look like shit Greggo." He spoke imitating his husbands southern drawl causing a small smile to form on his lips, before exiting the car and heading towards the house. He just wanted to slip in, get changed, and not think of how utterly ridiculous he felt. The house smelled good, Nick had always been a better cook than he was.

"Hey babe, that you?"

"Who else would it be?"

"Good point." Nick chuckled from the kitchen and Greg rolled his eyes. "Come here for a sec. before you scoot upstairs."

"I really want to get changed."

"It'll just take a second, come here." Nick said again. Greg let out a frustrated sigh and wiped at his face again before moving into the kitchen. Nick was standing at the sink drying his hands and Greg waited for him to turn around. He watched as Nick turned giving him a disapproving once over before coming over to him.

"Whats wrong?" He asked furrowing his brow.

Greg shook his head. "I just feel really stupid."

Nick pulled him against his chest running a hand up through his hair. "What happened?"

Greg pursed his lips fighting back the urge to cry again. "Someone adopted him. I didn't get to say goodbye."

"What?"

Greg nodded against his shoulder adjusting to Nicks arms wrapping protectively around his shoulders. "I just feel so stupid, it's not like he was mine, how could I let myself get so attached." He grit his teeth together.

"Babe you aren't stupid so stop it. You really cared about the kid; and with how much time you spent with him you were bound to be attached. It's fine to be upset; it's been what, eight months now you've been spending time with him? Tell you the truth there's a couple times I've been jealous of that."

Greg fought back a laugh. "Not funny Nick."

"I know." He pulled back putting a kiss on Greg's forehead. "Are you going to be alright?"

Greg shrugged. "I think somewhere in the back of my mind I was trying to come up with ways to convince you…" he snorted. "Listen to me. I'm ridiculous. We aren't ready for kids, with our work schedule, not to mention he's a brilliant autistic child, the fact that we lead a super secretive double life. We wouldn't have known what to do with ourselves."

"Hire a nanny, read a lot of books on special needs children, and continued or spy type life."

Greg furrowed his brow. "That is not helping me feel better one bit."

"I'm sorry hun. You go get changed, dinner'll be ready when you come downstairs." He leaned down kissing Gregs forehead before moving back towards the stove. Greg turned to go upstairs when Nick called over his shoulder.

"Hey babe?"

Greg paused turning back to him.

"I know you love your truck, but I tried to put the car seat in it and it doesn't fit, so you're going to have to get a new vehicle."

"What?" Greg said turning full around to give his husband a very confused and semi frustrated look. Nick kept facing the stove but moved his head in the direction of the living room. Greg stood still continuing to stare at the back of Nicks head.

"Well, go on." Nick said back still to him.

Greg moved from the kitchen past the dining room table into the living room and stopped at the end of the couch. Sitting in the middle of one of Greg's massive puzzles that he always said he'd finish but kept pushing of was a four year old bundle of chub, concentrating on finishing it.

Aidan looked up and a big smile formed on his face, he pushied himself up by the hands and waddled over to Greg who scooped him up and held him tightly to his chest.

"Hey you." He said quietly. "What are you doing?"

Aidan leaned back scrunching his eyes together before burying his face in Gregs shoulder, thumb finding his mouth; a gesture Greg had learned meant something along the lines of being incredibly happy.

Greg turned and walked back into the kitchen where Nick was leaning up against the counter smiling at him. He opened his mouth but couldn't fit a sentence together so he shut it and just stared at his husband.

"I know we aren't to word words yet, but I'd prefer to be Dad if your okay with Daddy."

Greg felt Aidan giggle against his chest. "How?"

"Well too can play the sneak around game." Nick smirked. "And it got to the point where I had to meet the child responsible for stealing away my husbands heart." He walked over to Greg running his hand along Aidans head getting a chuckle from the boy. "Funny thing though, he ended up stealing mine too." He brought his hand up to Gregs neck. "And who am I to deny you anything?"

Greg shook his head. "Nick, we can't, I mean how…we talked about this…"

Nick laughed at him. "Listen to you being all responsible."

"Well yeah. I think up the outrageous and you are the realistic one who brings me back down to earth."

"And if I was always the realistic one then we probably wouldn't be married. Ha, we nearly had the same conversation when I purposed, you remember? 'We haven't told anyone we are together,' and 'what if something happens,' or my personal favorite 'what if you wake up one morning and decide you want a taco for breakfast instead of my sausage' to which I replied and still mean it to this day 'I want your sausage every morning for breakfast and if I can't have it I'll be thinking about it all day."

Greg laughed at himself recalling the conversation as clearly as Nick did. "But babe, we don't"

Nick cut him off gently rubbing his thumb along his cheek, smiling. "If you go around being sensible every time we take a chance on love then I just don't know what I am going to do with you."

"Marry me?"

"Already did that darlin' your stuck with me."

"Thank God." Greg laughed leaning forward to kiss him. He felt Nick smiling against his lips and then he felt a small hand pushing at his face. He laughed into Nicks mouth pulling back to look at Aidan who was giggling at him. "Oh really you." Greg said to him. "Give me a minute to thank Dad here for giving me the best surprise ever okay?" He looked back at Nick. "Oh my gosh."

"What?"

"We have a son. We are Dad's."

"You wrap your head around that thought and go help your son wash his hands for dinner." Nick smiled. "I've got a friend coming in from Texas to watch him while we work until we get a nanny, a friend who is a lawyer and helped us get the paperwork in order so I'm sure you'll like her." Nick ran his hand over Aidans head ruffling his hair causing a chuckle from the boy. "You are so stinking cute." He said before walking to the cabinet pulling out two big plates and one childs plastic green plate from it hiding place behind the stack.

Greg pulled Aidan tightly to his chest turning to go to the bathroom. His son, curled into his arms laughing about nothing into his shirt. Greg beamed. "I'm going to do very dirty things to you tonight, Nick Stokes." He threw over his shoulder before disappearing down the hall hearing Nicks deep laughter echo off the halls.

There it is! I hope you have enjoyed the first installment of my (what I have just this second dubbed) the family arc. The next part will be a one shot where they hire a nanny, story told from her point of view, followed by the team learning about the true Nick and Greg after a tragedy befalls them! Stay tuned for some exciting stuff. Thank you for all those who have read my work and left me encouraging words, I write for you.


End file.
